第58章

Lady Mabel, when her young lover left her, was for a time freed from the necessity of thinking about him by her father. He had returned from the Oaks in a very bad humour. Lord Grex had been very badly treated by his son, whom he hated worse than any one else in the world. On the Derby-day he had won a large sum of money, which had been to him at the time a matter of intense delight,--for he was in great want of money. But on this day he had discovered that his son and heir had lost more than he had won, and an arrangement had been suggested to him that his winnings should go to pay Percival's losings. This was a mode of settling affairs to which the Earl would not listen for a moment, had he possessed the power of putting a veto upon it. But there had been a transaction lately between him and his son with reference to the cutting off a certain entail under which money was to be paid to Lord Percival. This money had not yet been forthcoming, and therefore the Earl was constrained to assent. This was very distasteful to the Earl, and he came home therefore in a bad humour, and said a great many disagreeable things to his daughter.

'You know, papa, if I could do anything I would.' This she said in answer to a threat, which he had made often before and now repeated, of getting rid altogether of the house in Belgrave Square. Whenever he made this threat he did not scruple to tell her that the house had to be kept up solely for her welfare. 'I don't see why the deuce you don't get married. You'll have to sooner or later.' That was not a pleasant speech for a daughter to hear from her father. 'As to that,' she said, 'it must come or not as chance will have it. If you want me to sign anything I will sign it;'--for she had been asked to sign papers, or in other words to surrender rights;--'but for that other matter it must be left to myself.' Then he had been very disagreeable indeed.

They dined together,--of course with all the luxury that wealth can give. There was a well-appointed carriage to take them backwards and forwards to the next square, such as an Earl should have. She was splendidly dressed, as became an Earl's daughter, and he was brilliant with some star which had been accorded to him by his sovereign's grateful minister in return for staunch parliamentary support. No one looking at them could have imagined that such a father could have told such a daughter that she must marry herself out of the way, because as an unmarried girl she was a burden.

During the dinner she was very gay. To be gay was a habit,--we may almost say the work,--of her life. It so chanced that she sat between Sir Timothy Beeswax, who in these days was a very great man indeed, and that very Dolly Longstaff, whom Silverbridge in his irony had proposed to her as a fitting suitor for her hand.

'Isn't Lord Silverbridge a cousin of yours?' asked Sir Timothy.

'A very distant one.'

'He has come over to us, you know. It is such a triumph.'

'I was so sorry to hear it.' This, however, as the reader knows, was a fib.

'Sorry!' said Sir Timothy. 'Surely Lord Grex's daughter must be a Conservative.'

'Oh yes;--I am a Conservative because I was born one. I think that people in politics should remain as they are born,--unless they are very wise indeed. When men come to be statesmen, and all that kind of thing, of course they can change backwards and forwards.'

'I hope that is not intended for me, Lady Mabel.'

'Certainly not. I don't knew enough about it to be personal.'

That, however, was again not quite true. 'But I have the greatest possible respect for the Duke, and I think it a pity that he should be made unhappy by his son. Don't you like the Duke?'

'Well;--yes;--yes in a way. He is a most respectable man; and has been a good public servant.'

'All our lot are ruined, you know,' said Dolly, talking of the races.

'Who are your lot, Mr Longstaff?'

'I'm one myself.'

'I suppose so.'

'I'm utterly smashed. Then there's Percival.'

'I hope he has not lost much. Of course you know he is my brother.'

'Oh laws;--so he is. I always put my foot in it. Well;--he has lost a lot. And so have Silverbridge and Tifto. Perhaps you don't know Tifto.'

'I have not the pleasure of knowing Mr Tifto.'

'He is a major. I think you'd like Major Tifto. He's a sort of racing coach to Silverbridge. You ought to know Tifto. And Tregear is pretty nearly cleared out.'

'Mr Tregear! Mr Frank Tregear!'

'I'm told he has been hit very heavy. I hope he's not a friend of yours, Lady Mabel.'

'Indeed he is;--a very dear friend and cousin.'

'That's what I hear. He's very much with Silverbridge you know.'

'I cannot think that Mr Tregear has lost money.'

'I hope he hasn't. I know I have. I wish someone would stick up for me and say it was impossible.'

'But that is not Mr Tregear's way of living. I can understand that Lord Silverbridge or Percival should lose money.'

'Or me?'

'Or you, if you like to say so.'

'Or Tifto?'

'I don't know anything about Mr Tifto.'

'Major Tifto.'

'Or Major Tifto;--what does it signify?'

'No;--of course. We inferior people may lose our money just as we please. But a man who can look clever as Mr Tregear ought to win always.'

'I told you just know that he was a friend of mine.'

'But don't you think that he does look clever?' There could be no question but that Tregear, when he disliked his company, could show his dislike by his countenance; and it was not improbable that he had done so in the presence of Mr Adolphus Longstaff. 'Now tell the truth, Lady Mabel; does he not look conceited sometimes?'

'He generally looks as if he knew what he was talking about, which is more than some other people do.'

'Of course he is a great deal more clever than I am. I know that.

But I don't think even he can be so clever as he looks, "Or you so stupid", that's what you ought to say now.'

'Sometimes, Mr Longstaff, I deny myself the pleasure of saying what I think.'